


want to dive into your ocean

by sheithors



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith and Shiro make out in a pool, M/M, and they get one, everybody needs a break, it's the best part, that's not the entire fic but like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-09 00:43:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11658060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheithors/pseuds/sheithors
Summary: Shiro leans back on his palms, feet submerged in the water, and closes his eyes, letting his mind drift as everything else - Pidge and Lance explaining how Marco Polo works to Allura and Coran, Hunk’s CANNONBALL! shout and subsequent splash, Keith's laughter - fades into the background.Or, the one where the castle actually does have a functional pool. Written for days 5 & 6 of Sheith Positivity Week.





	want to dive into your ocean

**Author's Note:**

> Initially I just wanted to fill the swimming prompt for Day 5, but I kept putting it off and didn't have it finished in time so I combined it with Day 6's relaxation/recreation prompt. And then my internet cut out all day yesterday, so I couldn't post it till today and was late anyway. Moral: don't procrastinate, kids.
> 
> Title is from Here Comes the Rain Again by Eurythmics.

The first thing Shiro notices when he wakes up is that it’s _hot_. It's a heavy sort of heat, the kind that makes him reluctant to move, let alone get out of bed. The second is that he's alone in his room. It's rare for Keith to wake up before Shiro, rarer still for him to actually get out of bed until he absolutely has to, but Shiro can’t pretend he isn’t a little glad that Keith isn’t plastered across his chest this morning; he’s always run a little hot.

He allows himself a few minutes of just lying in bed, then gets dressed, skipping the vest. The idea of layering up when it’s this warm isn't exactly appealing. The idea of putting _anything_ on isn't appealing right now, but he can't just wander around the castle in his underwear.

Keith and Pidge are already seated at the dining room table when he enters, both flushed with the heat and wearing identical t-shirts. Keith has his hair pulled into a messy ponytail, away from his face and neck.

“How are you even _wearing_ that right now,” Pidge says incredulously. “It's over a hundred degrees in here.”

“We can't all fit into Keith's t-shirts,” Shiro replies.

“Who says you have to wear a shirt?” Keith’s eyes are wide, all faux innocence, but the way the corner of his mouth twitches betrays him.

Shiro tugs at Keith's hair tie in retaliation, pulling his hair loose. “Where are the others?” he asks Pidge, ignoring Keith's indignant _hey!_ as he snatches his elastic band out of Shiro's hand and re-ties his hair.

Before she can reply, the door to the dining room slides open with a pneumatic hiss, letting in Hunk and Lance.

“Why is it so _hot_?” Hunk groans. “It's like 600 degrees in here. At first I thought it was just my room, but the entire castle feels like an oven. I feel like I'm getting baked alive. Which is a step up from being killed by the Galra but like. You know. Still not ideal. You’re not gonna put us through drills today, right?” he adds, turning to Shiro. Three other sets of eyes also swivel in his direction, pleading.

“I guess there's nothing wrong with taking a day off,” Shiro allows. It’d be unfair for him to expect any of them to focus on drills when the only things _he_ can focus on are 1) the way sweat is making his shirt stick uncomfortably to his back 2) trying to figure out just how far below his collar Keith’s heat-induced flush extends.

“Thank god,” Lance says as he slumps forward and rests his head against the table. Pidge pats his arm a few times in a perfunctory attempt at comfort.

“What if we fix whatever’s wrong with the castle?” Keith asks.

Lance’s head snaps up. “No! No take backs! Shiro already agreed to a day off! What's wrong with you, man?”

Keith frowns and opens his mouth to retort, but before he can say anything, Allura strides in with Coran. They both look totally unfazed by the heat.

“Paladins,” she begins. “I'm afraid we have to postpone your training for today.” She pauses, as if waiting for them to express disappointment.

“Oh noooo,” Hunk says half-heartedly.

“I'm sure you've noticed that it's just a touch warmer than usual,” she continues.

“Just a touch,” Pidge echoes, totally deadpan. “How do we fix it?”

Coran goes into a detailed spiel about malfunctioning thermal sensors and resetting the castle’s major systems to maintain a more reasonable temperature. Most of the technobabble goes over Shiro's head, but Pidge and Hunk are nodding along at intervals, which he takes as a good sign.

“How long will it take?” Shiro asks.

“Oh, about four to five vargas,” Coran replies. “It’s a mostly automatic procedure, but most of the castle’s non-essential functions will be, well, non-functional until it’s done.”

“Huh, so it’s like we’re running in safe mode,” Pidge says. 

“It's too bad your pool is so weird,” Lance says to Allura. “We could’ve used it to cool down.”

Allura frowns. “Our pool is just fine, thank you. It may be ten thousand years old, but it still serves its purpose.”

“All the water is on the ceiling!” Shiro’s pretty sure Lance’s eyebrows will fly right off his face if they get any higher. “How are you supposed to swim?”

“Pools are for decoration. _Baths_ are for swimming.”

“Wait, does this mean you actually _do_ have somewhere we can swim?” Hunk interjects. “Could we use it now?”

“It won't be heated because of the system reset,” Allura says dubiously, as if that's a detractor. “But yes, if you like.”

“Hold up,” Lance says. “Are you telling me we've had a hot tub this entire time and we're only _just_ finding out about it?”

“You know,” Keith says to Shiro as an aside while the others, suddenly energetic, start discussing the relative merits of pools and baths and hot tubs with Allura, “I think you _could_ actually fit into one of my shirts. I mean, you'd stretch it out, but at least it'd be short sleeved, right?”

He rests his hand on Shiro’s bicep, and Shiro raises an eyebrow. “Is this for your benefit or for mine?”

“Why not both?” Keith replies with a grin, squeezing his arm.

Lance claps them both on the back on his way out, whooping. Keith rolls his eyes and inclines his head towards the door. “Shall we?”

That's how Shiro finds himself perched on the edge of a shallow pool that meanders around a series of carved pillars, clad in Keith's t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. He knows wearing a shirt only makes the existence of his scars even more conspicuous, even if they’re hidden, but he doesn’t exactly want to deal with the others studiously trying to avoid staring. He sighs and leans back on his palms, feet submerged in the water, and closes his eyes, letting his mind drift as everything else - Pidge and Lance explaining how Marco Polo works to Allura and Coran, Hunk’s _CANNONBALL!_ shout and subsequent splash, Keith's laughter - fades into the background.

Back at the Garrison, he used to sneak down to the pool after-hours when he couldn't sleep. Sometimes he'd do a couple of laps to release any pent up restless energy. Other times he'd just float on his back, eyes closed, letting the not unpleasant scent of chlorine and the gentle sound of rolling water permeate his senses. It wasn't allowed, strictly speaking, but it was his preferred way to unwind and he'd never been caught, so. Maybe he'll take it up again, now that he knows the castle has a functioning pool.

Something wet brushes against his knee, startling him out of his thoughts.

Keith peers up at him, wet bangs plastered to his forehead, arms folded and resting on the edge of the pool. “Are you gonna stay there the whole time?”

Instinctively, Shiro reaches out and smooths his hair back, letting his hand linger. Keith blinks up at him. “ _Shiro_ ,” he says more insistently, hand curling around Shiro's ankle.

“Alright, alright,” Shiro says, and Keith floats back a little to give him space, appeased.

The water is fairly warm and instantly soaks through his shirt, weighing it down, but it still feels good against his heated skin. Keith grins at him, and he can't help but smile back, something warm unfurling in his chest.

“Hey,” he says softly.

“Hey,” Keith replies, resting his hands on Shiro's shoulders and giving him a considering look. “I wanna try something.”

“Okay…?”

“Trust me,” he says, pushing Shiro's shoulders downwards. Shiro takes a deep breath and lets Keith push him under, eyes open against the water.

Keith joins him a moment later, hair forming an inky halo around his head. His hands move from Shiro's shoulders to cup his face, and then he kisses Shiro - a brief, intense press of his mouth - before resurfacing and pushing his hair out of his eyes.

“Hmmm.”

“Insufficient data,” Shiro says, steering him behind a pillar and out of the others’ line of sight. It isn't like they don't know; a distress signal had arrived minutes after Keith had kissed him for the first time, and they'd both entered the Voltron drift too giddy to rein it in. Still, Shiro isn't too keen on PDA, trying to stay as neutral as possible around the others. “I think we need more trials,” he smiles against Keith's mouth. “Maybe change up the variables a little.”

“Mmmm, talk science to me, baby,” Keith hums, winding his arms around Shiro’s shoulders and deepening the kiss. Shiro loses track of time, not sure how long they've spent trading lazy kisses - it could be seconds, minutes, hours. His senses have narrowed down to Keith's tongue in his mouth and Keith's fingers curled in the collar of his shirt and Keith's tiny, content noises when Shiro kisses him just _so_.

They both startle and pull away from each other when Lance comes around the corner, eyes closed, calling “Marco!”

Keith looks righteously offended at having their makeout session cut short. He cups his hands together beneath the water and squeezes them, shooting a stream of water right between Lance’s eyes.

“Hey!” Lance sputters as Keith smirks. “What the hell, man!”

Pidge cackles and catches Keith's eye, nodding at him. Perfectly in sync, they both target Lance’s face again. _Teamwork._

“Oh it's _on._ Back me up, Hunk!”

“I got you, man!”

Shiro dodges the wave Hunk sends in Keith's direction, making his way over to Allura.

“Sometimes I can't believe the fate of the universe rests on their shoulders,” she says, shaking her head. The corner of her mouth quirks up slightly with amusement as she watches Keith and Lance grapple, trying to send each other under.

He bumps their shoulders together. “Shall we join them and show them how it’s done?”

Allura grins. “I was hoping you'd say that.”

**Author's Note:**

> AND THEN ALLURA AND SHIRO KICK EVERYONE'S ASSES, THE END. 
> 
> I'm not sure how I feel about this fic tbh, reading gen + background!sheith is like :D!! but attempting to write it was like D:!!! Trying to keep track of everyone is A Lot but I hope I managed to mostly pull it off anyway - please do kudos/comment if you liked it (and lmk if there are any typos/mistakes bc this is unbetaed lol)
> 
> Also, come say hi on [tumblr](https://shirogane-s.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/shallureith)!


End file.
